As you all know I'm sure, Joey Barton was told by Newcastle today that he could leave the club for nothing, zilch, sweet fa. One clubs loss in this case is certainly another clubs gain and I'm sure there will be many clubs hunting for Barton's signature. Inevitably we have been linked with Barton countless times since 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon when Barton confirmed via his Twitter account that he would be leaving the club this summer. Could Barton add something to the West Ham side? Of course the answer to that is yes but in my opinion he is too similar a player to Parker who now Barton is available will find it difficult to engineer a move out of Upton Park as 'Arry has already shown interest in Barton. No-one is going to want to pay £6million for a player if there is another who can do exactly the same job and they could pick him up for free. However as Newcastle haven't released Barton they still effectively have ultimate power as to where Barton ends up. With Allardyce and Nolan having both worked with Barton before I can certainly see why he might be tempted to join the 'revolution' at Upton Park. However as he and Parker are too similar I believe we should only have one or the other as the arrival of Barton would keep players such as Noble and Collison out of the side therefore making them restless which is certainly not what we want with Collison as he is most definitely one for the future.
Would we be taking a gamble on Barton? No, a very impressive disciplinary record last season caught the eye of many with Barton not receiving a red card all season. However as always he still carries his "bad boy image" although I feel under the guidance of Allardyce and being re-united with Nolan he'd remain stable so to speak. Nonetheless if someone came up to me and asked me Parker or Barton i'd say Parker any day of the week. Why? Parker knows West Ham inside out, wears his heart on his sleeve week in week out and in my view kept West Ham's point score looking respectable at the end of last season, performance against Liverpool anyone? In fact I see it as an insult that Parker has not been offered the captaincy, what does a man have to do to get the armband nowadays? If it's true that it was Parker who inspired the turnaround at the Hawthorns towards the end of last season then what better audition for the job can a man give? Many touted Parker as an average player in a poor team but it's evident following his recent performances with England that he is so much more than that. I've got nothing against Nolan I just feel that a player who has put heart and soul into the club over the last two seasons deserves to be rewarded.
It was a big day for West Ham yesterday as Luis Boa Morte left the club and returned to Portugal to see out his playing career and former Chelsea and Birmingham man Mikael Forsell has joined the club on a trial period. If whipped into shape and fit then Forsell could most certainly do a job for us next season - I'd rather have Carew (who wouldn't?) but I feel that with his wage demands likely to be sky high, Forsell is a fantastic alternative. With time running out and Parker, Green and Cole still at the club we're edging closer to happy days at Upton Park next season.
2 comments:
He said a few months back on twitter "why would i leave the premiership for a championship club when i can hold my own at the top level" I cant see him coming then and if hes like parker there is no point (if parker stays) Think our mid field is quite good its defence and the forwards that worry me.
Our midfield is very good and looks set to get better with the likes of Montano breaking into the first team. I wouldn't sign Barton until Parker goes otherwise it'll risk the development of our youngsters as it'll keep the likes of Collison out of the team. As Newcastle have final say over where he goes they could be stubborn and refuse to sell him to a PL club - who knows?
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